The Effectiveness of Addiction Prevention Training Program of Turkey on Improved Acquisition of Knowledge and Emotional Awarenes
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ADDICTA: THE TURKISH JOURNAL ON ADDICTIONS Copyright © 2019 Turkish Green Crescent Society Received: April 12, 2018 ISSN 2148-7286 eISSN 2149-1305 Accepted: October 11, 2018 http://addicta.com.tr/en/ OnlineFirst: February 25, 2019 DOI 10.15805/addicta.2019.6.1.0005 2019 6(1) 115‒131 Research Article The Effectiveness of Addiction Prevention Training Program of Turkey on Improved Acquisition of Knowledge and Emotional Awareness about Addiction* Şener Büyüköztürk1 Savaş Yılmaz2 Yaşar Özbay3 Hasan Kalyoncu University Turkish Green Crescent Society Hasan Kalyoncu University Hasan Eşici4 İsmail Hakkı Tomar5 Ramin Aliyev6 Hasan Kalyoncu University Hasan Kalyoncu University Hasan Kalyoncu University Halime Yıldırım Hoş7 Sinem Şenferah8 Menekşe Uysal Saraç9 İstanbul Medeniyet University Gazi University Çankırı Karatekin University Görkem Ceyhan10 Fatma Derya Akyılmaz11 Gazi University Turkish Green Crescent Society Abstract The purpose of this study is to examine the effect that the Addiction Prevention Training Program of Turkey (APT) has on increasing primary, middle, and high school students’ knowledge and emotional awareness about addiction. A pre-test/ post-test one group experimental design was used in the study. The study group consisted of a combined total of 5,570 primary, middle, and high school students from 12 provinces of Turkey from each of the 12 regions in NUTS-1 A dependent t-test was conducted to examine the program’s ability in aiding students to acquire knowledge and emotional awareness. APT was found to be effective in increasing students’ knowledge and emotional awareness about technology addiction and to be more successful for primary school and high school than for middle school students. The program is successful in combating tobacco addiction. High school students in particular became more informed about tobacco addiction as a result of the program. APT furthermore helped high school students increase their knowledge and emotional awareness about alcohol and drug addiction. Finally, although the program was effective in improving students’ knowledge about healthy living, it did not have the same effect in increasing their emotional awareness about it. As a result, the program was effective in improving students’ knowledge and emotional awareness about addictions. Keywords Addiction prevention training program • Technology addiction • Tobacco addiction • Alcohol addiction • Drug addiction • Healthy living * The preparation of this paper was supported by Addiction Prevention Training Program of Turkey. 1 Correspondence to: Şener Büyüköztürk (PhD), Faculty of Education, Hasan Kalyoncu University, Gaziantep Turkey. Email: [email protected] 2 Turkish Green Crescent Society, Istanbul Turkey. Email: [email protected] 3 Faculty of Education, Hasan Kalyoncu University, Gaziantep Turkey. Email: [email protected] 4 Faculty of Education, Hasan Kalyoncu University, Gaziantep Turkey. Email: [email protected] 5 Faculty of Education, Hasan Kalyoncu University, Gaziantep Turkey. Email: [email protected] & [email protected] 6 Faculty of Education, Hasan Kalyoncu University, Gaziantep Turkey. Email: [email protected] 7 Faculty of Education, İstanbul Medeniyet University, İstanbul Turkey. Email: [email protected] 8 Faculty of Gazi Education, Gazi University, Ankara Turkey. Email: [email protected] 9 Faculty of Letters, Çankırı Karatekin University, Çankırı Turkey. Email: [email protected] 10 Faculty of Gazi Education, Gazi University, Ankara Turkey. Email: [email protected] 11 Turkish Green Crescent Society, Istanbul Turkey. Email: [email protected] To cite this article: Büyüköztürk, Ş., Yılmaz, S., Özbay, Y., Eşici, H., Tomar, İ. H., Aliyev, R., Yıldırım Hoş, H. ... Akyılmaz F. D. (2019). The effectiveness of Addiction Prevention Training Program of Turkey on improved acquisition of knowledge and emotional awareness about addiction. Addicta: The Turkish Journal on Addictions, 6, 115−131. http://dx.doi.org/10.15805/addicta.2019.6.1.0005 ADDICTA: THE TURKISH JOURNAL ON ADDICTIONS Among the most critical problems adversely affecting society’s quality of life of societies around the world, addiction has been subject to many interdisciplinary studies in recent years. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines substance abuse as a willingness to seek and use substances in spite of harmful consequences. The American Medical Association (AMA) defines addiction as a chronic illness caused by continued excessive use of the substance despite the physical, psychological, or social injuries it causes the person (Rinaldi, Steindler, & Wilford, 1988). Addiction is, in its simplest terms, an irresistible use of drugs or stimulants (Müderrisoğlu, 2008). Dependency is a condition where a person makes several attempts to quit using the substance, yet instead gradually increases the dose of the substance, exhibits signs of deprivation upon cessation, continues to use it despite seeing its harm, and spends a large amount of time searching for the substance (Ögel, 2001). The concept of addiction is mainly used to describe the excessive use of cigarettes, alcohol, or narcotic substances. In the DSM-V, compulsive behaviors that both are and are not accompanied by substance abuse are also considered under addiction (e.g., pathological gambling, sex dependency, and internet dependency) (American Psychological Association [APA], 2013). Green Crescent classifies addiction types under the following categories: cigarette/tobacco, alcohol, substance, technology, and gambling addiction (www.yesilay.org.tr). Due to the increase in substance use, it is estimated that, worldwide, 200,000 people die annually as a result of substance use (Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı [MEB], 2009). While the number of individuals using narcotic substances increases, the average age of these users decreases (Sarı & Öztürk, 2005). According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in 2008, 208 million people were using narcotic substances worldwide whereas by 2014 this number increased to 247 million (UNODC, 2016). The use of drugs is lower in Turkey than in many countries. In the 2008 study titled “Adolescent Profile” Aile( ve Sosyal Araştırmalar Genel Müdürlüğü [ASAGEM], 2010) conducted on 65 ages, 1.9% of individuals aged between 13 and 18 were found to have used cannabis at least once in their life (Şen et al., 2008). AMATEM’s 2013 data shows that the number of problematic substance users (excluding marijuana and ecstasy) was 59,895 (European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction [EMCDDA], 2014). According to the results of the two surveys “Attitudes and Behavior Research Towards Tobacco, Alcohol and Substance Use in General Nutrition (GPS)” and “Attitudes and Behavior towards Tobacco, Alcohol and Substance Use in Schools in Turkey (SPS)” conducted by the Turkish National Drug and Drug Addiction Monitoring Center (TUBİM) 2.7% of those surveyed were found to have used a narcotic substance at least once in their life (Turkey Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug addiction [TUBIM]), 2012). The results of the study revealed that 15 to 24-year olds of age were significantly 116 Büyüköztürk, Yılmaz, Özbay, Eşici, Tomar, Aliyev, Yıldırım Hoş, Şenferah, Uysal Saraç, Ceyhan, Akyılmaz / The Effectiveness of... more likely to use of drug. Moreover, 1.5% of the elementary-aged school children surveyed were found to have used a narcotic substance at least once in their life with the average age of first use being at 14. Since the data indicate increased rates of drug addiction and instances of first use occurring at younger ages, governments should focus their efforts on emergency prevention and protective programs. Article 58 of the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey states that “The State shall take necessary measures to protect young people from alcohol addiction, drug substances, guilt, gambling and similar bad habits and ignorance.” This provision shows that fighting drugs or other substance addictions is among the Turkish state’s main tasks. On the basis of this provision, the “National Strategy and Policy Document” covering 2006-2012 was devised and the corresponding “National Drug Action Plan” in force between 2007 and 2009 was executed. Per the National Drug Policy and Strategy Document (2013-2018), Turkey has implemented an approach that facilitates division of labor, linked work, cooperation, and coordination among related parties by developing a broad, unified and complementary mentality, organizations, and practices to effectively combat substance dependence. To this end, the National Drug Action Plan (2013-2015) seeks to engender coordination and cooperation between the central government, local governments, and NGOs in all areas and at all levels to establish and maintain a holistic and multilateral system to prevent drug use and dependence. Green Crescent has the distinction of being the first and only non-governmental organization to combat addictions and species on a national scale in Turkey. The National Drug Policy and Strategy Document and the National Drug Action Plan are included in the preparatory studies and conduct guiding and fundamental work on state policies. At the same time, Green Crescent is not only developing relevant activities by following up on current scientific applications and international standards and studies but also implementing exemplary practices (Yeşilay, 2015). All of these documents emphasize preventive and protective initiatives against